US20080187370A1 - Fuser assembly for an electrophotographic device - Google Patents
Fuser assembly for an electrophotographic device Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20080187370A1 US20080187370A1 US11/806,188 US80618807A US2008187370A1 US 20080187370 A1 US20080187370 A1 US 20080187370A1 US 80618807 A US80618807 A US 80618807A US 2008187370 A1 US2008187370 A1 US 2008187370A1
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- Prior art keywords
- roller
- tubular
- pressing member
- fuser assembly
- support
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- 239000011241 protective layer Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000010409 thin film Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- 229910000838 Al alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000004642 Polyimide Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 229920001721 polyimide Polymers 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000004033 plastic Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000004952 Polyamide Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229920006026 co-polymeric resin Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 230000006835 compression Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007906 compression Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052736 halogen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 150000002367 halogens Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229920002647 polyamide Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 229920005989 resin Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 239000011347 resin Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 description 1
- BFKJFAAPBSQJPD-UHFFFAOYSA-N tetrafluoroethene Chemical group FC(F)=C(F)F BFKJFAAPBSQJPD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
- G03G15/20—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for fixing, e.g. by using heat
- G03G15/2003—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for fixing, e.g. by using heat using heat
- G03G15/2014—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for fixing, e.g. by using heat using heat using contact heat
- G03G15/206—Structural details or chemical composition of the pressure elements and layers thereof
Definitions
- the invention relates to a fuser assembly, more particularly to a fuser assembly applicable to an electrophotographic device.
- the toner image on the recording medium is subjected to heat generated by the heater via the tubular roller, by which the toner image is melted, and is subsequently pressed between the tubular roller and the pressing roller, by which the toner image is fixed on the recording medium.
- the aforementioned conventional fuser assembly achieves its intended purpose, since the pressing roller makes only a point contact with the tubular roller, during operation of the fuser assembly, the toner image on the recording medium makes contact with the tubular roller within only a very short period of time. As such, the recording medium has to be fed very slowly to the conventional fuser assembly.
- the conventional fuser assembly can, therefore, be very inefficient.
- the tubular roller is made from a metallic pipe, undesirable curling of the recording medium occurs during operation of the conventional fuser assembly.
- a fuser assembly has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,579 to solve the aforementioned problems.
- the proposed fuser assembly includes a tubular roller that is made from a thin film of polyimide, a support member disposed in the tubular roller, a heater mounted fixedly on the support member, and a pressing roller that presses the tubular roller against the support member and the heater.
- the proposed fuser assembly is disadvantageous in that, since the heater is mounted fixedly on the support member, when the heater needs replacing, the support member has to be replaced as well.
- the main object of the present invention is to provide a fuser assembly that can overcome the aforesaid drawbacks of the prior art.
- a fuser assembly for an electrophotographic device comprises a deformable tubular roller, a heat-conductive pressing member, a pressing roller, and a heater.
- the pressing member is disposed in the tubular roller, and includes a tubular part that has a flat surface.
- the pressing roller includes an elastic member that presses the tubular roller against the flat surface of the tubular part of the pressing member.
- the heater is disposed in the tubular part of the pressing member.
- FIG. 1 is a partly exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment of a fuser assembly according to the present invention
- FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the preferred embodiment when installed in an electrophotographic device
- FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a tubular roller, a roller support, a pressing member, a pressing roller, and a heater of the preferred embodiment
- FIG. 4 is a schematic view to illustrate the preferred embodiment in an assembled state
- FIG. 5 is a fragmentary schematic view to illustrate operation of the preferred embodiment.
- FIG. 6 is a plot to illustrate a warm-up time of the preferred embodiment.
- a fuser assembly 40 according to this invention is shown to include a deformable tubular roller 6 , a heat-conductive pressing member 7 , a pressing roller 9 , and a heater 8 .
- the fuser assembly 40 of this embodiment is applied to an electrophotographic printer 300 (see FIG. 2 ). In an alternative embodiment, the fuser assembly 40 may be applied to an electrophotographic copier.
- the electrophotographic printer 300 includes a light source 31 , a photosensitive drum 33 , a toner cartridge 34 , a developing roller 35 , and a transfer roller 32 .
- each of the photosensitive drum 33 and the transfer roller 32 starts to rotate, and a recording medium 30 , such as a sheet of paper, is fed between the photosensitive drum 33 and the transfer roller 32 .
- the light source 31 such as a semiconductor laser, irradiates a light beam on the photosensitive drum 33 , whereby an electrostatic latent image (not shown) is formed on the photosensitive drum 33 .
- the developing roller 35 electrostatically transfers toner (not shown) from the toner cartridge 34 onto the photosensitive drum 33 , whereby a toner image (not shown) is formed on the photosensitive drum 33 which corresponds to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 33 .
- the toner image is transferred from photosensitive drum 33 onto the recording medium 30 .
- the recording medium 30 is thereafter fed to the fuser assembly 40 for fixing the toner image thereon in a manner that will be described hereinafter.
- the fuser assembly 40 further includes a casing 4 that includes upper and lower casing parts 42 , 41 .
- the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 includes left and right walls 411 , each of which is formed with a hole 410 therethrough, and a bottom wall 412 that interconnects the left and right walls 411 thereof and that cooperates with the left and right walls 411 to define an accommodating space 413 .
- the lower casing part 41 is made from metal.
- the upper casing part 42 of the casing 4 is disposed above the lower casing part 41 , and includes left and right walls 421 , each of which is provided with an engaging member 420 (only the engaging member 420 of the right wall 421 of the upper casing part 41 is shown in FIG. 1 ), and a top wall 422 that interconnects the left and right walls 421 thereof.
- the upper casing part 42 is made from a plastic material.
- the fuser assembly 40 further includes a roller support 5 that includes spaced apart first and second support members 51 , each of which is mounted movably on a respective one of the left and right walls 411 of the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 .
- the first support member 51 of the roller support 5 has a C-shaped cross section, and includes a first end portion 511 that is disposed externally of the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 , and a second end portion 512 that extends from the first end portion 511 of the first support member 51 into the accommodating space 413 in the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 through the hole 410 in the left wall 411 of the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 .
- the first support member 51 of the roller support 5 has an outer surface formed with a flange 52 , and an inner surface formed with a bracket 54 .
- the flange 52 is disposed in the accommodating space 413 in the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 and abuts slidably against the left wall 411 of the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 .
- the bracket 54 is disposed externally of the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 , is triangular in shape, and is provided with a pair of engaging members 53 .
- each of the first and second support members 51 of the roller support 5 is made from a plastic material.
- the tubular roller 6 is disposed in the accommodating space 413 in the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 , and has left and right open end portions 61 , each of which defines an opening 610 and is sleeved rotatably on the second end portion 512 of a respective one of the first and second support members 51 of the roller support 5 through the opening 610 thereof.
- the tubular roller 6 is made from a thin film of polyamide.
- the tubular roller 6 has a wall thickness of 75 ⁇ m.
- the pressing member 7 is disposed in the tubular roller 6 , includes a tubular part 71 , and a pair of wings 72 .
- the tubular part 71 of the pressing member 7 has opposite openings 710 and a flat surface 711 , and extends through the opening 610 defined by each of the left and right open end portions 61 of the tubular roller 6 and the hole 410 in each of the left and right walls 411 of the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 .
- Each the wings 72 of the pressing member 7 extends from the tubular part 71 of the pressing member 7 and engages a respective one of the engaging members 53 of the bracket 54 of each of the first and second support members 51 of the roller support 5 .
- the pressing member 7 is made from an aluminum alloy.
- the tubular part 71 of the pressing member 7 has a wall thickness of 0.7 mm.
- the pressing roller 9 is mounted rotatably on the casing 4 , and includes a shaft 91 , an elastic member 92 , and a gear 93 .
- the shaft 91 of the pressing roller 9 is disposed in the accommodating space 413 in the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 , and extends rotatably through the hole 410 in each of the left and right walls 411 of the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 .
- the elastic member 92 of the pressing roller 9 is disposed in the accommodating space 413 in the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 , is wrapped around the shaft 91 , and presses the tubular roller 6 against the flat surface 711 of the tubular part 71 of the pressing member 7 , as best shown in FIG. 4 .
- the gear 93 of the pressing roller 9 is disposed externally of the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 and is sleeved securely on the shaft 91 .
- the electrographic printer 300 further includes a motor (not shown) that is coupled to the gear 93 of the pressing roller 9 , and that is operable so as to drive rotation of the pressing roller 9 .
- the fuser assembly 40 further includes a protective layer 74 (see FIG. 5 ) provided on the flat surface 711 of the tubular part 71 of the pressing member 7 for reducing a friction coefficient between an inner surface of the tubular roller 6 and the flat surface 711 of the tubular part 71 of the pressing member 7 to less than that between an outer surface of the tubular roller 6 and the recording medium 30 .
- the protective layer 74 is made from a resin material.
- the protective layer 74 has a thickness of 15 ⁇ m.
- the fuser assembly 40 further includes a biasing unit 50 that serves to bias the tubular roller 6 against the pressing roller 9 .
- the outer surface of each of the first and second support members 51 of the roller support 5 is further formed with a protrusion 55 that is disposed externally of the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 .
- the biasing unit 50 includes first and second abutting members 501 , third and fourth abutting members 502 , and first and second biasing members 503 .
- Each of the first and second abutting members 501 is fastened on the respective one of the left and right walls 411 of the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 .
- Each of the third and fourth abutting members 502 is sleeved on the protrusion 54 of the respective one of the first and second support members 51 of the roller support 5 and abuts against the outer surface of the respective one of the first and second support members 51 of the roller support 5 .
- the first biasing member 503 is sleeved on the protrusion 54 of the first support member 51 of the roller support 5 , and has opposite ends that abut respectively against the first and third abutting members 501 , 502 .
- the second biasing member 503 is sleeved on the protrusion 54 of the second support member 51 of the roller support 5 , and has opposite ends that abut respectively against the second and fourth abutting members 501 , 502 .
- each of the first and second biasing members 503 of the biasing unit 50 is a compression spring.
- the heater 8 is disposed in the tubular part 71 of the pressing member 7 and is separated from the pressing member 7 , and includes a heat-generating element 81 and a pair of electrodes 82 .
- the heat-generating element 81 of the heater 8 is disposed in the tubular roller 6 , and has left and right end portions.
- Each of the electrodes 82 extends from a respective one of the left and right end portions of the heat-generating element 81 , through a respective one of openings 710 of the tubular part 71 of the pressing member 7 and the opening 610 defined by the respective one of the left and right open end portions 61 of the tubular roller 6 , and further through the bracket 54 of the respective one of the first and second support members 51 of the roller support 5 .
- Each of the electrodes 82 is additionally coupled to a power source (not shown), and engages releasably the engaging member 420 of a respective one of the left and right walls 421 of the upper casing part 42 of the casing 4 , thereby mounting removably the heater 8 on the casing 4 .
- the heater 8 can be solely replaced.
- the heater 8 is a halogen heater.
- the heater 8 is a resistor.
- the pressing roller 9 rotates in a counter-clockwise direction, as indicated by arrow (A), and drives rotation of the tubular roller 6 in a clockwise direction, as indicated by arrow (B).
- the toner image 301 on the recording medium 30 is subjected to heat generated by the heat-generating element 81 of the heater 8 via the tubular part 71 of the pressing member 7 and the tubular roller 6 , by which the toner image 301 is melted, and is subsequently pressed between the tubular roller 6 and the elastic member 92 of the pressing roller 9 , by which the toner image 301 is fixed on the recording medium 30 .
- the tubular roller 6 is pressed on the flat surface 711 of the tubular part 71 of the pressing member 7 by the pressing roller 9 , during the operation of the fuser assembly 40 of this invention, not only is undesirable curling of the recording medium 30 prevented, but the toner image 301 on the recording medium 30 makes contact with the tubular roller 6 for a relatively longer period of time. As such, the recording medium 30 may be fed very quickly to the fuser assembly 40 of this invention.
- the fuser assembly 40 of this invention can, therefore, be applied to an electrographic printer with a fast printing speed.
- the outer surface of the tubular roller 6 may be coated with a tetrafluoroethylene perfluoroalkylvinylether copolymer resin (PFA) for preventing the toner image 301 from adhering thereon.
- PFA tetrafluoroethylene perfluoroalkylvinylether copolymer resin
- the fuser assembly 40 further includes a heater controller 2 (see FIG. 1 ) that is disposed in the accommodating space 413 in the lower casing part 41 of the casing 4 , that is coupled to the electrodes 82 of the heater 8 , and that is operable so as to maintain the heater 8 within a predetermined temperature range.
- a heater controller 2 see FIG. 1
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- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Fixing For Electrophotography (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application No. 096103881, filed on Feb. 2, 2007.
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The invention relates to a fuser assembly, more particularly to a fuser assembly applicable to an electrophotographic device.
- 2. Description of the Related Art
- In U.S. Pat. No. 6,559,421, there is disclosed a conventional fuser assembly for an electrophotographic device that includes a tubular roller, a heater disposed in the tubular roller, and a pressing roller that makes a point contact with the tubular roller.
- In operation, when a recording medium with a toner image thereon is fed to the conventional fuser assembly, the toner image on the recording medium is subjected to heat generated by the heater via the tubular roller, by which the toner image is melted, and is subsequently pressed between the tubular roller and the pressing roller, by which the toner image is fixed on the recording medium.
- Although the aforementioned conventional fuser assembly achieves its intended purpose, since the pressing roller makes only a point contact with the tubular roller, during operation of the fuser assembly, the toner image on the recording medium makes contact with the tubular roller within only a very short period of time. As such, the recording medium has to be fed very slowly to the conventional fuser assembly. The conventional fuser assembly can, therefore, be very inefficient. Moreover, since the tubular roller is made from a metallic pipe, undesirable curling of the recording medium occurs during operation of the conventional fuser assembly.
- A fuser assembly has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,579 to solve the aforementioned problems. The proposed fuser assembly includes a tubular roller that is made from a thin film of polyimide, a support member disposed in the tubular roller, a heater mounted fixedly on the support member, and a pressing roller that presses the tubular roller against the support member and the heater. The proposed fuser assembly, however, is disadvantageous in that, since the heater is mounted fixedly on the support member, when the heater needs replacing, the support member has to be replaced as well.
- Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a fuser assembly that can overcome the aforesaid drawbacks of the prior art.
- According to the present invention, a fuser assembly for an electrophotographic device comprises a deformable tubular roller, a heat-conductive pressing member, a pressing roller, and a heater. The pressing member is disposed in the tubular roller, and includes a tubular part that has a flat surface. The pressing roller includes an elastic member that presses the tubular roller against the flat surface of the tubular part of the pressing member. The heater is disposed in the tubular part of the pressing member.
- Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
-
FIG. 1 is a partly exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment of a fuser assembly according to the present invention; -
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the preferred embodiment when installed in an electrophotographic device; -
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a tubular roller, a roller support, a pressing member, a pressing roller, and a heater of the preferred embodiment; -
FIG. 4 is a schematic view to illustrate the preferred embodiment in an assembled state; -
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary schematic view to illustrate operation of the preferred embodiment; and -
FIG. 6 is a plot to illustrate a warm-up time of the preferred embodiment. - Referring to
FIG. 1 , the preferred embodiment of afuser assembly 40 according to this invention is shown to include a deformabletubular roller 6, a heat-conductive pressingmember 7, apressing roller 9, and aheater 8. - The
fuser assembly 40 of this embodiment is applied to an electrophotographic printer 300 (seeFIG. 2 ). In an alternative embodiment, thefuser assembly 40 may be applied to an electrophotographic copier. - With further reference to
FIG. 2 , theelectrophotographic printer 300 includes alight source 31, aphotosensitive drum 33, atoner cartridge 34, a developingroller 35, and atransfer roller 32. - When the
electrophotographic printer 300 is operated, each of thephotosensitive drum 33 and thetransfer roller 32 starts to rotate, and arecording medium 30, such as a sheet of paper, is fed between thephotosensitive drum 33 and thetransfer roller 32. Then, thelight source 31, such as a semiconductor laser, irradiates a light beam on thephotosensitive drum 33, whereby an electrostatic latent image (not shown) is formed on thephotosensitive drum 33. Subsequently, the developingroller 35 electrostatically transfers toner (not shown) from thetoner cartridge 34 onto thephotosensitive drum 33, whereby a toner image (not shown) is formed on thephotosensitive drum 33 which corresponds to the electrostatic latent image on thephotosensitive drum 33. As therecording medium 30 is further fed between thephotosensitive drum 33 and thetransfer roller 32, the toner image is transferred fromphotosensitive drum 33 onto therecording medium 30. Therecording medium 30 is thereafter fed to thefuser assembly 40 for fixing the toner image thereon in a manner that will be described hereinafter. - The
fuser assembly 40 further includes acasing 4 that includes upper andlower casing parts lower casing part 41 of thecasing 4 includes left andright walls 411, each of which is formed with ahole 410 therethrough, and abottom wall 412 that interconnects the left andright walls 411 thereof and that cooperates with the left andright walls 411 to define anaccommodating space 413. In this embodiment, thelower casing part 41 is made from metal. Theupper casing part 42 of thecasing 4 is disposed above thelower casing part 41, and includes left andright walls 421, each of which is provided with an engaging member 420 (only theengaging member 420 of theright wall 421 of theupper casing part 41 is shown inFIG. 1 ), and atop wall 422 that interconnects the left andright walls 421 thereof. In this embodiment, theupper casing part 42 is made from a plastic material. - The
fuser assembly 40 further includes aroller support 5 that includes spaced apart first andsecond support members 51, each of which is mounted movably on a respective one of the left andright walls 411 of thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4. - With further reference to
FIG. 3 , thefirst support member 51 of theroller support 5 has a C-shaped cross section, and includes afirst end portion 511 that is disposed externally of thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4, and asecond end portion 512 that extends from thefirst end portion 511 of thefirst support member 51 into theaccommodating space 413 in thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4 through thehole 410 in theleft wall 411 of thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4. In this embodiment, thefirst support member 51 of theroller support 5 has an outer surface formed with aflange 52, and an inner surface formed with abracket 54. Theflange 52 is disposed in theaccommodating space 413 in thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4 and abuts slidably against theleft wall 411 of thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4. Thebracket 54 is disposed externally of thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4, is triangular in shape, and is provided with a pair ofengaging members 53. - Since the construction of the
second support member 51 of theroller support 5 is similar to that of thefirst support member 51 of theroller support 5, a detailed description thereof is omitted herein for the sake of brevity. - Preferably, each of the first and
second support members 51 of theroller support 5 is made from a plastic material. - The
tubular roller 6 is disposed in theaccommodating space 413 in thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4, and has left and rightopen end portions 61, each of which defines anopening 610 and is sleeved rotatably on thesecond end portion 512 of a respective one of the first andsecond support members 51 of theroller support 5 through the opening 610 thereof. In this embodiment, thetubular roller 6 is made from a thin film of polyamide. Preferably, thetubular roller 6 has a wall thickness of 75 μm. - The
pressing member 7 is disposed in thetubular roller 6, includes atubular part 71, and a pair ofwings 72. Thetubular part 71 of thepressing member 7 hasopposite openings 710 and aflat surface 711, and extends through the opening 610 defined by each of the left and rightopen end portions 61 of thetubular roller 6 and thehole 410 in each of the left andright walls 411 of thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4. Each thewings 72 of thepressing member 7 extends from thetubular part 71 of thepressing member 7 and engages a respective one of theengaging members 53 of thebracket 54 of each of the first andsecond support members 51 of theroller support 5. In this embodiment, thepressing member 7 is made from an aluminum alloy. Preferably, thetubular part 71 of thepressing member 7 has a wall thickness of 0.7 mm. - The
pressing roller 9 is mounted rotatably on thecasing 4, and includes ashaft 91, anelastic member 92, and agear 93. Theshaft 91 of thepressing roller 9 is disposed in theaccommodating space 413 in thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4, and extends rotatably through thehole 410 in each of the left andright walls 411 of thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4. Theelastic member 92 of thepressing roller 9 is disposed in theaccommodating space 413 in thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4, is wrapped around theshaft 91, and presses thetubular roller 6 against theflat surface 711 of thetubular part 71 of thepressing member 7, as best shown inFIG. 4 . Thegear 93 of thepressing roller 9 is disposed externally of thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4 and is sleeved securely on theshaft 91. - The
electrographic printer 300 further includes a motor (not shown) that is coupled to thegear 93 of thepressing roller 9, and that is operable so as to drive rotation of thepressing roller 9. - The
fuser assembly 40 further includes a protective layer 74 (seeFIG. 5 ) provided on theflat surface 711 of thetubular part 71 of thepressing member 7 for reducing a friction coefficient between an inner surface of thetubular roller 6 and theflat surface 711 of thetubular part 71 of thepressing member 7 to less than that between an outer surface of thetubular roller 6 and therecording medium 30. In this embodiment, theprotective layer 74 is made from a resin material. Preferably, theprotective layer 74 has a thickness of 15 μm. - The
fuser assembly 40 further includes a biasingunit 50 that serves to bias thetubular roller 6 against thepressing roller 9. In particular, the outer surface of each of the first andsecond support members 51 of theroller support 5 is further formed with aprotrusion 55 that is disposed externally of thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4. The biasingunit 50 includes first and second abuttingmembers 501, third and fourth abuttingmembers 502, and first andsecond biasing members 503. Each of the first and second abuttingmembers 501 is fastened on the respective one of the left andright walls 411 of thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4. Each of the third and fourth abuttingmembers 502 is sleeved on theprotrusion 54 of the respective one of the first andsecond support members 51 of theroller support 5 and abuts against the outer surface of the respective one of the first andsecond support members 51 of theroller support 5. Thefirst biasing member 503 is sleeved on theprotrusion 54 of thefirst support member 51 of theroller support 5, and has opposite ends that abut respectively against the first and third abuttingmembers second biasing member 503 is sleeved on theprotrusion 54 of thesecond support member 51 of theroller support 5, and has opposite ends that abut respectively against the second and fourth abuttingmembers second biasing members 503 of the biasingunit 50 is a compression spring. - The
heater 8 is disposed in thetubular part 71 of thepressing member 7 and is separated from the pressingmember 7, and includes a heat-generatingelement 81 and a pair ofelectrodes 82. The heat-generatingelement 81 of theheater 8 is disposed in thetubular roller 6, and has left and right end portions. Each of theelectrodes 82 extends from a respective one of the left and right end portions of the heat-generatingelement 81, through a respective one ofopenings 710 of thetubular part 71 of thepressing member 7 and theopening 610 defined by the respective one of the left and rightopen end portions 61 of thetubular roller 6, and further through thebracket 54 of the respective one of the first andsecond support members 51 of theroller support 5. Each of theelectrodes 82 is additionally coupled to a power source (not shown), and engages releasably the engagingmember 420 of a respective one of the left andright walls 421 of theupper casing part 42 of thecasing 4, thereby mounting removably theheater 8 on thecasing 4. As such, theheater 8 can be solely replaced. In this embodiment, theheater 8 is a halogen heater. In an alternative embodiment, theheater 8 is a resistor. - In operation, referring to
FIG. 5 , when therecording medium 30 is fed to thefuser assembly 40 of this invention, thepressing roller 9 rotates in a counter-clockwise direction, as indicated by arrow (A), and drives rotation of thetubular roller 6 in a clockwise direction, as indicated by arrow (B). As therecording medium 30 is further fed to thefuser assembly 40 of this invention, thetoner image 301 on therecording medium 30 is subjected to heat generated by the heat-generatingelement 81 of theheater 8 via thetubular part 71 of thepressing member 7 and thetubular roller 6, by which thetoner image 301 is melted, and is subsequently pressed between thetubular roller 6 and theelastic member 92 of thepressing roller 9, by which thetoner image 301 is fixed on therecording medium 30. - From the above description, since the
tubular roller 6 is pressed on theflat surface 711 of thetubular part 71 of thepressing member 7 by thepressing roller 9, during the operation of thefuser assembly 40 of this invention, not only is undesirable curling of therecording medium 30 prevented, but thetoner image 301 on therecording medium 30 makes contact with thetubular roller 6 for a relatively longer period of time. As such, therecording medium 30 may be fed very quickly to thefuser assembly 40 of this invention. Thefuser assembly 40 of this invention can, therefore, be applied to an electrographic printer with a fast printing speed. Moreover, since the friction coefficient between the inner surface of thetubular roller 6 and theflat surface 711 of thetubular part 71 of thepressing member 7 is less than that of between the outer surface of thetubular roller 6 and therecording medium 30, slippage between therecording medium 30 and thetubular roller 6 is prevented during the operation of thefuser assembly 40 of this invention. - It is noted herein that the outer surface of the
tubular roller 6 may be coated with a tetrafluoroethylene perfluoroalkylvinylether copolymer resin (PFA) for preventing thetoner image 301 from adhering thereon. - The
fuser assembly 40 further includes a heater controller 2 (seeFIG. 1 ) that is disposed in theaccommodating space 413 in thelower casing part 41 of thecasing 4, that is coupled to theelectrodes 82 of theheater 8, and that is operable so as to maintain theheater 8 within a predetermined temperature range. - Based on experimental results and with reference to
FIG. 6 , since the heat generated by theheater 8 is applied on thetubular roller 6 via thetubular part 71 of thepressing member 7, a warm-up time of thetubular roller 6 from a temperature of approximately 20° C. (i.e., room temperature) to an operating temperature of 160° C. is reduced to nine seconds. Thetubular roller 9 of thefuser assembly 40 of this invention, therefore, has a relatively short warm-up time. - While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Claims (10)
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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TW096103881 | 2007-02-02 | ||
TW96103881A | 2007-02-02 | ||
TW096103881A TWI405054B (en) | 2007-02-02 | 2007-02-02 | Image fixing apparatus |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US20080187370A1 true US20080187370A1 (en) | 2008-08-07 |
US7769331B2 US7769331B2 (en) | 2010-08-03 |
Family
ID=39676293
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/806,188 Expired - Fee Related US7769331B2 (en) | 2007-02-02 | 2007-05-30 | Fuser assembly for an electrophotographic device |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US7769331B2 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2008191634A (en) |
TW (1) | TWI405054B (en) |
Citations (5)
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US5210579A (en) * | 1990-11-30 | 1993-05-11 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Image fixing apparatus having a parting resin layer for reducing frictional resistance of the film through which the image is heated |
US5493377A (en) * | 1993-11-13 | 1996-02-20 | Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Continuous form printer |
US6559421B1 (en) * | 1999-10-29 | 2003-05-06 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Image forming apparatus and fixing device therefor |
US20050185994A1 (en) * | 2004-02-20 | 2005-08-25 | Canon Kabushikia Kaisha | Image heating apparatus having a flexible sleeve |
US20080187371A1 (en) * | 2007-02-02 | 2008-08-07 | Cheng-Wen Tsai | Fuser assembly for an electrophotographic device |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP2900604B2 (en) * | 1990-11-30 | 1999-06-02 | キヤノン株式会社 | Image heating device |
JPH08292667A (en) * | 1995-04-21 | 1996-11-05 | Tec Corp | Heat and fixing device |
JP2005078020A (en) * | 2003-09-03 | 2005-03-24 | Ricoh Co Ltd | Image forming apparatus |
JP2006251069A (en) | 2005-03-08 | 2006-09-21 | Kyocera Mita Corp | Fixing apparatus |
-
2007
- 2007-02-02 TW TW096103881A patent/TWI405054B/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 2007-05-10 JP JP2007125949A patent/JP2008191634A/en active Pending
- 2007-05-30 US US11/806,188 patent/US7769331B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5210579A (en) * | 1990-11-30 | 1993-05-11 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Image fixing apparatus having a parting resin layer for reducing frictional resistance of the film through which the image is heated |
US5493377A (en) * | 1993-11-13 | 1996-02-20 | Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Continuous form printer |
US6559421B1 (en) * | 1999-10-29 | 2003-05-06 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Image forming apparatus and fixing device therefor |
US20050185994A1 (en) * | 2004-02-20 | 2005-08-25 | Canon Kabushikia Kaisha | Image heating apparatus having a flexible sleeve |
US20080187371A1 (en) * | 2007-02-02 | 2008-08-07 | Cheng-Wen Tsai | Fuser assembly for an electrophotographic device |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JP2008191634A (en) | 2008-08-21 |
TWI405054B (en) | 2013-08-11 |
US7769331B2 (en) | 2010-08-03 |
TW200834268A (en) | 2008-08-16 |
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